Mid Ulster's Worker's Party raise concerns over the lack of detail provided on the plans for the Health Service.

The Workers Party Mid Ulster representative Hugh Scullion said the party is concerned at the lack of detail provided on the plans for the Health Service.

He released the following statement saying,

"While as sum of money for waiting lists has been mentioned no detail has been provided on if this money will be used to build capacity within the Health Service to deal with waiting lists or if it is yet another gift to the private sector. There is absolutely no mention of any funding to meet the pay rise for NHS staff within Northern Ireland, who once again find themselves the lowest paid staff across the UK. This not only flags up a lack of concern for those workers but shows the absence of any joined up thinking in relation to poverty and the causes of poverty. There is no mention within the proposals on how to do deal with the crisis in Home Care and the problems caused by the privatisation of domiciliary care services and the impact this has on releasing patients from hospital. Nor is there any mention of a serious intent to fund health prevention in any substantial and sustainable plans to improve the health of our citizens.

"The Health Service in Northern Ireland has over the past five decades been through several reorganizations. Billions of pounds have been squandered on new structures each one having a detrimental effect on the delivery of much needed Services. Much of what is wrong with the Health Service can be put right by taking a new direction. The Workers Party believes that what is needed is an open, transparent, and courageous debate on what type of Health Service is required to deliver quality outcomes and deal with decades of health inequalities. That debate must challenge vested interests both inside and outside the Health and Social Care Service.

"Our politicians in the past have agreed on many costly Health Service reorganizations that wasted billions of pounds and delivered nothing but privatization and fragmentation, resulting in outcomes that were a detriment to patients and Service users, and millions of pounds being paid to private consultancy firms who were not interested in the best clinical outcomes, but a cost cutting exercise to balance the books. The department claims in this latest report that reducing health inequalities is one of its key objectives. Reducing health inequalities was one of their key performance indicators when the Assembly was set up. Yet, despite their fine words and noble sentiments, health inequalities have not improved and the March 2024 report from the Northern Ireland Audit Office highlights the fact that not only have they not improved but have
worsened over the past two decades.

"All reports from experts in the field make the crucial point that social and economic issues must be addressed to improve health standards and deal with health inequalities.
Health inequalities have several root causes, poverty, unemployment, low pay, and educational underachievement plus the lack of decent public housing all feature as key factors. The absence of a budget or financial allocation this latest report would indicate the lack of serious intent to improve health standards for our citizens or to tackle health inequalities for those living in areas of multiple deprivation.

"There is no doubt that we have a major crisis within our health service, but it did not happen by accident, it happened by design. It happened because of decisions taken by previous Ministers and endorsed by the executive and the political parties.
Privatization, fragmentation, bed closures, staff cuts, and reduced services, to balance the books on the backs of workers and the most vulnerable in our society, went unchallenged by those charged with scrutinizing all health proposals and decisions.

"To be able to deal with all the problems facing the health services and to tackle health inequalities there must be a joined-up approach with the entire executive playing a full role in tackling these problems. It is the Executive’s responsibility to ensure that the appropriate infrastructure needed to facilitate positive changes and delivery of an improved standard of health care is in place. None of these proposed changes should take place without a full public consultation and a detailed Equality Impact Assessment on how these proposed changes would impact on those living within rural communities, not a high-level assessment by the department.

"To tackle health inequalities and deal with the root causes the Executive needs to urgently put in place the long promised Anti-poverty Strategy. They need to legislate for a real living wage and proper terms and conditions of employment for all workers and commit to ensuring that affordable and free childcare places are made available now, and not at some future date. An immediate house building program needs to be scheduled to deal with poor living conditions and homelessness and allocated on objective need. Welfare benefits need to be changed to eliminate the two-child cap and winter fuel payments reinstated without means testing. These are the bare minimum and the first steps required to start the process of tackling health inequalities.

"The workers party believes that only a socialist system of government can deliver for the working class. But in the mean time we will fight for the delivery of high standards of health and social care, and tackle the health inequalities that working class people have suffered for decades. Our Bill of Rights that was part of the Good Friday agreement might have helped solve some of these problems, but has never been implemented like many of the other measures that may have made life better for all our citizens the majority of them being the working class."

Hugh Scullion Mobile 07719384557